Buy Your Rock Salt Now!

Newsflash. Or weather flash. There's a reported shortage of rock salt these days. So you might want to head the store sooner than later before the snow starts flying.

I stopped at a hardware store on Friday and noted a 50-pound bag went for $8 or $9. This could easily go up if the upcoming winter is anything like last year. Of course many are anticipating a tough winter. And this is one big reason why salt is harder to find. I'm also told salt is harder to ship to this part of the world. Currently, the price of salt per ton runs anywhere between $175 and $200. Before last winter, it's was a third of the price.

Many small businesses I spoke with, including landscapers, say they're fully loaded. The city of Milwaukee seems to be prepared as well. I'm told it has close to 57 thousand tons of salt stock with a third of the supply carried over from last year.

So a little preparation can go a long way. Obviously, the last thing you want to do, on a snowy day, is run to the store only to find out there's no more salt left.